What Does Israel Fear from Palestine? by Raja Shehadeh

Since the formation of the state of Israel in 1948, the Nakba (or 'disaster' as the Palestinians call it), there have been many opportunities to move towards peace and equality between Palestine and Israel - after the Six-Day War in 1967, the Oslo Agreement and even the 7 October 2023 War. Each opportunity has been rejected by Israel, which is why life is unbearable in the West Bank now and there is genocide in Gaza. This book explores what went wrong again and again, and why. And how it could still be different.

It is human nature to feel prejudice. But in this haunting meditation on Palestine and Israel, Shehadeh suggests that this does not mean the two nations cannot live together to their mutual benefit and co-existence.

In graceful, devastatingly observed prose, this is a fresh reflection on the conflict in a time of great need.